1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instrument panel construction for a vehicle.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-103518, filed Mar. 31, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a vehicle is provided with an instrument panel which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle body, and various types of devices such as meters, audio equipment, air bags and the like are set into this instrument panel. Furthermore, in the prior art, in order to enhance the rigidity of the vehicle body, a steering hanger beam which extends completely across the transverse direction of the vehicle body has been provided forward of the instrument panel, with the steering column being fixed to this steering hanger beam.
As a prior art type instrument panel construction, there is a per se known type of instrument panel construction which is made from a resin of closed cross sectional form, in which equipment such as an air conditioning device or an air bag or the like is housed in the interior of the instrument panel which is made with a closed cross section. Furthermore, in this instrument panel, a bracket for supporting the steering is fixed to the vehicle body, and the steering column is fixed to this bracket.
Furthermore, as another type of instrument panel construction, there is per se known a structure in which the instrument panel and the steering hanger beam are joined together into one unitary member with resin.
With these type of instrument panel constructions, at the upper side portion of the instrument panel, there is provided a reinforcement portion which consists of a plurality of plate portions which are extend horizontally and which are arranged to have a certain gap between them in the vertical direction, and this reinforcement portion serves the function of a steering hanger beam. Furthermore, the steering column is inserted through an opening which is provided in the instrument panel, and is supported therein.
However, with the instrument panel construction described in the Japanese Patent Publication No. H10-273072, since the instrument panel is made with a closed cross sectional shape, there are limitations upon housing of the various equipment in its interior, so that it is not possible to take efficient advantage of the empty space within the instrument panel. Furthermore, since such equipment must be fitted within this closed cross sectional shape, the convenience during assembly is poor.
Moreover, with the instrument panel construction described in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-72421, the reinforcement portion which is endowed with the function of acting as the steering hanger beam extends completely across the vehicle body in its transverse direction, so that it is not possible to house equipment in the interior of the instrument panel. Accordingly, it is not possible to take efficient advantage of the empty space within the instrument panel.
Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel construction for a vehicle, which is able to take efficient advantage of the empty space within the instrument panel, and which is able to omit the steering hanger beam.